- Outdated cadasters, generic value maps, and fragmented systems make property tax collection less efficient.
- Updating and integrating systems delivers returns far beyond increased revenue, transforming urban management.
- In the municipality of João Pessoa in Brazil, an initiative supported by the IDB paved the way for structural improvements ranging from infrastructure services to land regularization.
The Urban Property Tax (IPTU, in its Brazilian acronym) is an instrument that connects fiscal and urban policies, enabling cities in Brazil to finance essential services and plan their growth sustainably. Despite its importance, however, IPTU faces a significant challenge: underperformance, reflected in the gap between its revenue potential and what is actually collected.
Several factors explain this low effectiveness, including outdated property registers, generic value maps with obsolete values, and fragmented systems. As a result, many municipalities collect less than they could and face difficulties in managing public policies that rely on territorialized information to guide investments and decision-making.
In the municipality of João Pessoa, in the state of Paraíba, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) supported the creation and maintenance of a territorial cadaster that functions as an integrated base, ensuring fair taxation while also serving urban planning and management needs.
It was necessary to update the cadaster and make it more comprehensive. In addition, the municipality worked with an obsolete generic value map, far removed from market reality.
To address this situation, the João Pessoa Sustainable Program promoted the updating and enhancement of the digital cartographic base, the multipurpose territorial cadaster, the generic value map, and the implementation of municipal geographic information systems (GIS).
| Cadastral Update – 2023 | Number of Properties |
|---|---|
| New properties (absent from the previous cadaster) | 7,582 |
| Properties with buildings previously registered as vacant lots | 7.,49 |
| Properties with built-area increases greater than 10% | 72,770 |
| Commercial properties previously registered as residential | 4,471 |
Source: João Pessoa Municipal Government, 2025.
The first result was the identification of nearly 90,000 properties (out of a base of almost 400,000) with significant changes in use or occupation, showing discrepancies greater than 10% between the recorded and actual built area. This finding demonstrated the modernization’s ability to generate concrete short-term gains and pave the way for more structural advances.
The IPTU reassessment was carried out in 2024, accompanied by a communication strategy based on transparency and taxpayer guidance. Through an informational letter, the city administration explained the changes, included images of the property, and provided channels for questions and appeals.
An in-person service structure was set up, and a mobile application was developed to handle taxpayer requests. The initial expectation was that up to 30% of cases would be contested. However, the outcome was surprising: only 0.8% of notified taxpayers contacted the municipality.
The update was limited to occupation (built area) and use. There were no changes to the land or building value bases. Even so, in some cases the tax amount increased significantly due to construction expansions or changes in property use. To soften the impact and avoid an immediate full adjustment. Increases were phased in over up to five years, with an annual cap of 20% relative to the previous year.
The strategy was informed by knowledge-sharing with municipalities that had previously implemented similar initiatives, such as Fortaleza, São Luís, Maceió, Aracaju, Teresina, and Belo Horizonte. This exchange made it possible to identify best practices and tailor solutions to local realities, thereby strengthening effectiveness and taxpayer acceptance.
The projected outcome is a cumulative increase of approximately R$ 100 million in municipal revenue over five years. While this fiscal impact underscores the importance of the initiative, the benefits extend well beyond revenue generation, supporting public policies across multiple sectors.
• The Secretariat of Infrastructure uses the data to update information on paving, street lighting, drainage, water, and sanitation, as well as to plan public transport and waste collection. A topographic survey of 1,000 unpaved streets has already enabled faster and more accurate paving projects.
• The Secretariat for the Environment now accesses the digital cartographic base to map vegetation and develop environmental licensing and inspection modules.
• Civil Defense uses the information to simulate flood-prone areas and identify zones at risk of landslides or structural collapse.
• The Secretariat of Housing accelerates land tenure regularization processes based on high-resolution mapping of communities.
The database is currently managed by the Secretariat of Planning, which coordinates its use across different municipal departments. This integration shows how a project initially focused on tax collection can generate synergies with urban policies, enhancing its relevance for sustainable development.
The municipality is now considering integration with national systems such as the National Territorial Information Management System (Sinter) and the National Property Cadaster. Periodic updates to the generic value map are also on the horizon, with the development of models that allow for value simulation and comparison. Together, these initiatives point to continuous improvement in fiscal and urban management.
The João Pessoa experience shows that investing in high-quality information is not merely a technical action but a strategic decision to strengthen municipal autonomy and promote tax fairness. While OECD countries collect an average of 1.6% of GDP through property taxes, Brazil does not exceed 0.7%. Initiatives like this are therefore essential to reduce this gap and increase own-source revenues without raising tax rates.
For other municipalities to advance along this path, it is crucial to adopt an integrated approach, involving finance and urban planning departments from the outset to ensure technical and institutional consistency. It is equally important to ensure that the territorial database is used broadly, supporting public policies beyond tax collection, and to establish normative and operational mechanisms that allow for periodic reviews.
The path forward lies in applied technology, effective management, and strategic vision — and João Pessoa proves that this is both feasible and impactful.